Ez

God's spent a lot of time counting this boy's hair.

Yesterday was haircut day.

For all of my kids.
But I always miss Ezzie's hair the most after a cut.

Matthew 10:30
And even the very hairs of your head 

are all numbered.

God loves my sweet boy.
And his hair.
Even more than I do.

Typically, I would link this up with Beki's Fingerprint Friday. But after 5 years of hosting and an increasingly busy life (we all know how that is) she has decided to end her Fingerprint Friday run. Just want to thank you, Beki, for encouraging us to look for God's fingerprints in the little, everyday things of life. It's been a blessing. 

6 Little Monkeys

Saturday we finally had Ezra's birthday party.

As is my norm,

we did not get invitations out.

I just talked to his friends' moms at school.

And made a couple phone calls.

Ezra wanted a monkey party.

That doesn't at all lend itself to craziness.

                             
Jobe was included.
Because Ezra's friends all love him.
And there would have been many tears if he wasn't.
Many.

We played Monkey in the Middle.
Barrel of Monkeys.
Did a little monkey word game.
Made a monkey stick puppet.
And, well, acted like monkeys.

Ezra didn't want cake.
A relief for this mommy.

So for dessert.
I slit a banana (with the peel on).
Stuffed it with marshmallows and chocolate chips.
Wrapped it in foil.
And heated it in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Then added a little ice cream on the side.

Let me tell you.
It was De.Lish.
And so easy.

Then we headed over to the monkey bars at school.

The best part about the day:
Ezra's best friend (and his family)
made the hour drive here.

They were so glad to be together again.

It was a noisy party.

But, man, boys are fun.

Another 8th

This 8th is for Ezra.

He's had a big last few days.

August 15: first day of second grade.
Always exciting in elementary school.
After that it's not so cool to be excited about school.

August 16: first lost tooth.
He had been waiting so long.

Our hygienist pulled it out at his teeth cleaning.
He was one happy little boy.

August 17: (here's where the 8th comes in) birthday.

He's smiling funny.
He wants everyone to see his missing tooth.

We took treats to school.
Waffle cookies, of course.

And guess what happened at school?
He lost another tooth.
2 teeth in 2 days.
So very exciting.
For him.

He opened his presents when he got home.

So happy to get a fishing pole from his siblings.

Then we were off to Oklahoma for the weekend.
Ezra thought it was great we were staying in a hotel.
On his birthday.

We ate supper at Pops near Oklahoma City.

My dad had heard about it from a friend.
And wanted to take the kiddos there.

They have over 600 different bottled pops.
Some weird flavors: bacon, pb&j, buffalo wings.
I stayed away from those.
It was hard to choose.
And the food was ok.
Just hamburgers and stuff.
Definitely worth the trip though.
The kids loved it.

Since we were gone over the weekend,
we waited until last night
to put Ez's 2nd lost tooth in his pillow.

Then, the tooth fairy forgot to come last night.
Oops.
Bad mommy.

I told him she must have been confused
about which night we were coming home.
Good recovery, mommy.

Hope I remember tonight.

Two Brothers and a Water Gun

It's not often that the baby in the family has the advantage.

He sure enjoyed it.

Then it was time to switch.

Pay backs are tough.

Ezra

Ezra came along after a miscarriage.
2 D&C's.
Several visits to specialists.
And lots of tears.

He is so much like his daddy.
In looks.
And personality.

He is super sensitive.
(Which has its good and bad points.)
Many days he comes home from school
telling me about one of his classmates
who got their feelings hurt
and how he feels bad for them.

He is a sweetie.He's become such a good reader.
So we decided it was time to get him a Bible.He was super excited.
He especially loved that his name was on it.

We had a hard time picking Ezra's name before he was born.
But here's the verse that sealed it for us.

Ezra 7:10
For Ezra had devoted himself
to the study and observance
of the Law of the LORD,
and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.

I pray he continues to love Scripture.
I pray he continues to have a tender heart.

He is a treasure.

Let the Unwrapping Begin

Our Christmases begin tonight.
And every night is full until New Year's Eve.
We're popular people.
Except on New Year's Eve apparently.
No one wants to party with us.
Boo.

The little boys are bouncing off the walls this morning.
Christmas is just too exciting.
But they sure are cute.

Ezzie has been busy making gifts.
And wrapping them.
He uses about twice as much paper as he needs.
Which is just fine.
We have 30,000 rolls of Christmas wrapping paper.
I seem to have turned into my grandma.

And now some pics.
That have absolutely nothing to do with this post.
And are nearly a month old.Before we know it, we will be taking the tree down.
And packing up all the decorations.
I'm going to try to soak up every moment.

The Confidence of Ezra

Ezra loves to make mini pizzas.
Saturday we made them for lunch.Everyone made their own.
Except Brookie.
She wanted a frozen Totino's pizza.
As she was eating it, she said:
I could eat frozen pizza everyday.
Hmmm.
I've never heard her say:
I could eat mom's cooking everyday.

But really I shouldn't complain.
I can be an awesome mom.
Just by having Totino's pizzas in the freezer.
Simple enough.

Ezra worked on his pizzas the longest.
He wanted them to be just perfect.This was the discussion he and I had:
Ezra: I'm probably going to be a famous pizza maker some day.
Me: Sounds good.
But I thought you were going to be a baseball player.
Ezra: Yah, I want to be a baseball player too.
Me: Well, you can't play baseball when you get old.
You can open a pizza restuarant then.

Seven hours later (out of the clear blue)
Ezra: I don't know if I want to be a famous pizza maker.
I think I'll just play baseball.
You can play baseball until you are old.
Babe Ruth played baseball when he was old.
And he was the best baseball player ever.
Well...until he died.
I don't really know who is the best baseball player now.He has confidence in so many areas.
Then sometimes he surprises us.
And shows a super sensitive side.

I was playing with Ezzie's hair Sunday afternoon.
(I LOVE his hair.
So much bounce and life.
Just like him.
But it can tend to get a little poofy at times.)
Ezra says: Some kids at school call me "muffin".Before Ryan, Brookelynn, Jake and I could stop ourselves,
we laughed.
Out loud.
Loudly.
And Ezra cried.
Then we all felt bad.
But it was funny.
And kinda' true.
Which, of course, is why we laughed.

Would it be really cruel
to make muffins for breakfast tomorrow?
Suddenly I'm really wanting some...

Party Time

Yesterday after school.
I had a belated birthday party for Ezra.

An alien/space party.With black hole punch.We played games.Found moonrocks.
And painted them.Created space scenes.Opened and admired presents.
(A fight was brewing over the opening of presents.
Several of them wanted their present to be opened first.
Ezra was looking at me like: what do I do?
I put each kid's name in a hat.
And let Ezra draw names.
Everyone seemed ok with that.
Pheww!
Crisis averted.)And made alien slime.
Definitely the hit of the party.Last night putting the little boys to bed.
Me: You know Ezra, Jobie helped a lot with your party.
He put everything in the treat bags.
And got the craft bags for the space scene ready.

Ezra: So Jobe did pretty much everything then.

Jobe: Yep. That's why I'm so tired.

I can only imagine the conversation after I left the room.
Ezra: Seriously, what does mom do all day?
Jobe: I know!
What will she do next year without me home to help her?

Not sure what I will do.
But I get a little giddy if I think about it too long.

A Birthday and the First Days of School

Yesterday was big for Ezzie.
It was his 7th birthday.
And the first day of school.
He could not sleep the night before.
Too much excitement for a little guy.

When he got to school,
his teacher asked if he wanted to wear the b-day sticker all day.
Or just when I brought his treats later..
He wanted to wear it all day.
Insuring him lots of attention, I'm sure.In the afternoon, his class sang "Happy Birthday" to him.
And he got to wear a special hat.
Doesn't he look excited about it?He could have worn the hat the last 1/2 hour of the day.
But he declined.
Sticker is one thing.
Hat is another, I guess.

Presents always make a kid smile big.
Jakie has two frogs and a mini turtle.
Ezzie has been wanting a pet for awhile now.

His last present was a box with fish food in it.
He looked at it.
And looked at it.
And finally said.
You got me a fish?
Were is it?
I will always remember how he said it.
One of those memories to treasure.They were waiting for him in his room.
7 fish.
Finally pets of his own.
Brookie helped him name them last night.
They wrote them all down.
He took the list to school this morning.
You need to share these things with your friends.

1st grade.
Yesterday was a big day for Brookie too.
First day in Junior High.
Can you hear my sigh?
She was nervous.
Very unlike her.
She didn't even eat breakfast.
Glad I went all out and bought Toaster Strudels.

7th grade.Jobie did not want to be left out.
I had to lay out clothes for him the night before too.
Yet he insists he is not going to school next year.
Today was Jake's 1st day.
He did not want his picture taken.
But mom wins.
Kinda.
The boy would not give me a good smile.

6th grade.His sister stepped in and tried to help.
Yah.
That always works.
Then his best friend showed up.
With the hot rod.
That was all it took to get a genuine smile.Sweet ride.
Great first day of school tradition.Another summer that flew by.
One more year with my baby.
Then off he goes too.

Scary thought.
Exciting thought.